Great piece and profoundly interesting. I reposted it on Notes. (I am a Spanish guy living in Japan).
You mentioned the cooperation and competition between all the players involved in the industry. I think is not exclusive of manga/anime industry. Somehow, I feel that Japan's soft power boom cannot be understood without that competition/cooperation duality that is entwined with Japanese's business approach.
I kind of feel like challenges to Hollywood's hegemony are largely due to them putting themselves there, too? Media consolidation in the US has built these massive, too-big-to-fail behemoths that simply cannot take risks on the then smaller number of projects they produce, so you get absurdities like a superhero movie considered a failure if it doesn't break a billion. And then there's what seems like the algorithmic tuning of the content within; it feels like manga however is better for the simple fact that there's still human taste involved in shaping content served up by their data collection. Truly the best of both worlds.
The risk factor is huge. It costs so (relatively) little to run a one-off or series in a magazine that the editors have a lot more leeway to take chances with untested creators.
When I was interviewing people for the Jump feature, one thing I kept hearing was that there's probably no other medium that channels the visions of single artists to so many consumers. With TV and film there are so many people in the process; with manga, it's usually only two (artist/editor). This is why manga feel so unfiltered and authentic in comparison to the slicker works of foreign publishers/broadcasters/etc.
Awesome, very interesting. I find this direct feedback with readers brutal to creators but wonderful for their stories. In case of Western/American productions I have a feeling, the decisions are taken by a team without connection to outer world, or by some shady marketing researches, which don't represent anything. Also: in Western world, people are often afraid of experimenting. They better do another sequel, and even if boring, but viewers will come, because they enjoy recognizability. But this feedback loop of serving recognizability between creators and viewers brings nothing original and stupidify (pardon my French) the audience.
Great read! I like the echoing of the human algorithm as the great separator that gives manga (and the anime that often grow out of its pages) such global appeal. You’ve mostly discussed this in relation to Jump juggernauts, but to what degree is that tuning happening at smaller publications and with smaller creators?
Jump is most definitely not the only magazine using surveys; they're simply the oldest and most established one doing it. Every magazine/platform has its own focus and collects/uses the data in different ways.
With the rise of digital manga (it's eclipsing print) we are seeing the advent of literal instant feedback, that give data down to very precise things like the amount of time spent per page/panel. My concern is that there can be a level of too much data, where the metrics become the focus instead of the content. Jump, with its long years of analyzing analogue feedback, is probably better positioned to figure out a balance than others. One hopes.
Also sent it to Marina Hyde (Guardian journalist) and Richard Osman (TV producer and creator of Thursday Murder Club) for consideration for their podcast The Rest Is Entertainment
Naturally the most immediate use for me is showing everyone to whom I want to sell CP licenses, that they should forget films and the Marvel and DC universe, and invest in animé
A great read. Loved the focused insight on the manga industry and infrastructure behind its successes.
Also good to have Tim Eldred's input.
So speaking of Eldred, when are you going to do a Votoms article, or a Yamato article?
Maybe you already did this, but would love to get your take on the history of Akiba.
Haven't been there in a decade, but I'd like to get more on the actual history of why it became the source of DIY gadgetry before it became the otaku capital as envisioned by Densha Otoko (itself probably quite outdated these days), including my view on Akihabara...
maybe the did a story on this on Japanology Plus? If so, then I missed it. Would love to get an update, 'coz as you know, things keep evolving in Japan...
Great piece and profoundly interesting. I reposted it on Notes. (I am a Spanish guy living in Japan).
You mentioned the cooperation and competition between all the players involved in the industry. I think is not exclusive of manga/anime industry. Somehow, I feel that Japan's soft power boom cannot be understood without that competition/cooperation duality that is entwined with Japanese's business approach.
I kind of feel like challenges to Hollywood's hegemony are largely due to them putting themselves there, too? Media consolidation in the US has built these massive, too-big-to-fail behemoths that simply cannot take risks on the then smaller number of projects they produce, so you get absurdities like a superhero movie considered a failure if it doesn't break a billion. And then there's what seems like the algorithmic tuning of the content within; it feels like manga however is better for the simple fact that there's still human taste involved in shaping content served up by their data collection. Truly the best of both worlds.
The risk factor is huge. It costs so (relatively) little to run a one-off or series in a magazine that the editors have a lot more leeway to take chances with untested creators.
When I was interviewing people for the Jump feature, one thing I kept hearing was that there's probably no other medium that channels the visions of single artists to so many consumers. With TV and film there are so many people in the process; with manga, it's usually only two (artist/editor). This is why manga feel so unfiltered and authentic in comparison to the slicker works of foreign publishers/broadcasters/etc.
Awesome, very interesting. I find this direct feedback with readers brutal to creators but wonderful for their stories. In case of Western/American productions I have a feeling, the decisions are taken by a team without connection to outer world, or by some shady marketing researches, which don't represent anything. Also: in Western world, people are often afraid of experimenting. They better do another sequel, and even if boring, but viewers will come, because they enjoy recognizability. But this feedback loop of serving recognizability between creators and viewers brings nothing original and stupidify (pardon my French) the audience.
Great read! I like the echoing of the human algorithm as the great separator that gives manga (and the anime that often grow out of its pages) such global appeal. You’ve mostly discussed this in relation to Jump juggernauts, but to what degree is that tuning happening at smaller publications and with smaller creators?
Jump is most definitely not the only magazine using surveys; they're simply the oldest and most established one doing it. Every magazine/platform has its own focus and collects/uses the data in different ways.
With the rise of digital manga (it's eclipsing print) we are seeing the advent of literal instant feedback, that give data down to very precise things like the amount of time spent per page/panel. My concern is that there can be a level of too much data, where the metrics become the focus instead of the content. Jump, with its long years of analyzing analogue feedback, is probably better positioned to figure out a balance than others. One hopes.
Also sent it to Marina Hyde (Guardian journalist) and Richard Osman (TV producer and creator of Thursday Murder Club) for consideration for their podcast The Rest Is Entertainment
Naturally the most immediate use for me is showing everyone to whom I want to sell CP licenses, that they should forget films and the Marvel and DC universe, and invest in animé
A great read. Loved the focused insight on the manga industry and infrastructure behind its successes.
Also good to have Tim Eldred's input.
So speaking of Eldred, when are you going to do a Votoms article, or a Yamato article?
Maybe you already did this, but would love to get your take on the history of Akiba.
Haven't been there in a decade, but I'd like to get more on the actual history of why it became the source of DIY gadgetry before it became the otaku capital as envisioned by Densha Otoko (itself probably quite outdated these days), including my view on Akihabara...
maybe the did a story on this on Japanology Plus? If so, then I missed it. Would love to get an update, 'coz as you know, things keep evolving in Japan...
Wow - great article - thanks for posting. Already reposted on LinkedIn
Great article - Thanks for posting ! 👋🏼 from France, soon in 🗼
France is a place that developed an appreciation for anime long before the US! (Italy too.)
yeah since Goldorak⚡️ (Grendizer) !...